


Outside Big Rico's

by chapscher



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Glam trash!Cecil, M/M, Public Sex, Punk!Earl, soul-merging
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-08
Updated: 2014-06-08
Packaged: 2018-02-03 20:23:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1756231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chapscher/pseuds/chapscher
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scouts aren’t supposed to be in relationships, so Earl and Cecil regularly schedule sessions in the alley behind Big Rico’s. Punk!Earl and Glam Trash!Cecil</p>
            </blockquote>





	Outside Big Rico's

**Author's Note:**

  * For [punkrockgaia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/punkrockgaia/gifts).



> Punk!Earl and Glam Trash!Cecil are ideas created and embellished by punkrockgaia and videntefernandez during Earl Harlan Week.

The sun was kissing the western horizon by the time Earl returned to the scouts’ dormitories on the edge of town. Although his work was done for the day, he rushed up the steps to the third floor, which was reserved for Eagle scouts and young scout leaders. He had hoped that this would only be a quick stop before he rushed across town, but he wasn’t so lucky.

“Harlan,” he was sharply greeted once he pulled open the door. His roommate, Nazr al-Mujaheed, stood between their lofted twin beds, his eyes narrowed and arms crossed. “Where the hell were you all day?”

“I had to get up early for the bloodstone morning chant and then the cub scouts needed extra hands.” He stepped past Nazr and over to his desk and started rummaging through the drawer. “What does it matter?”

“There was a room inspection this afternoon. Did you forget? You didn’t even make your bed this morning. I had to do it for you.”

Earl glanced up at his bed, the sheets tucked around the mattress with a military precision. “Thanks. I... I owe you one.” He went back to looking through his desk.

“But that’s not what I’m upset about,” Nazr snapped, forcing Earl to face him and slamming the desk drawer shut. “It’s _this_ , Harlan.” He pulled a condom packet from his pocket and waved it in front of Earl’s face. “I found it in your desk. Is this what you’re looking for?”

Earl grabbed at it, but Nazr pulled it out of his reach. “Hey, thanks for making my bed and all. But why the fuck were you snooping around my stuff, ass?”

“I needed a pen and saw this as soon as I opened the drawer. Do you know what would have happened if they caught you with this?”

“Spare the lecture.”

“Seventeen hours in the Dark Box for reeducation _plus_ a suspension. You know that we can’t be involved with anyone - especially someone who isn’t even a scout. Do you think this is all under the radar? I honestly don’t know how you even get away with wearing a non-regulation uniform and ratty shirt. I guess it’s because you’ve always been Scoutmaster’s favorite.”

Earl defensively gripped at the fleur-de-lis patch he had sewn onto an old army jacket with spike studs along the shoulders. “What does my uniform have to do with anything?”

“My point is,” Nazr continued, “that even though exceptions have been made for you, this goes too far. It won’t be a slap on the wrist this time. You’re only a month away from graduating from Eagle Scout to troop leader, what do you think will happen if you get suspended now?”

Earl snatched the condom back and stuffed it into his pocket. “I. Won’t.”

The two young men stood in silence, glaring at each other. Earl was about to leave when Nazr spoke. “It’s Cecil, isn’t it?”

“Mind your own damn business,” he growled, turning to the door.

“Are you going to leave the scouts for him?”

“What did I just say?”

“Because that’s what I’m going to do for Flora.”

Earl stopped and turned. His roommate was standing between the beds, rubbing the back of his neck and looking at the floor. “Why haven’t you told me this?”

“I’m going to leave after I finish my time as an Eagle Scout. At the graduation, I’m going to get down on one knee and ask Flora to marry me.”

“And then what?”

He shook his head. “I’m not like you, Harlan. I can imagine life without the scouts. And if I want to be with her, if I want the two of us to have something, I have to leave.”

 

 

It was night by the time Earl had arrived at the dark alley behind Big Rico’s. Cecil was already there, sitting perched on a wooden crate across from the dumpster. He was silhouetted against the street lamps glowing from the distant sidewalk. A single, long plume of smoke rose from the cigarette he held delicately between long fingers.

“Hey,” Earl smiled as he approached.

“Brave Earl,” Cecil grinned, hopping off the crate to wrap his arms around the scout.

For the first time since their last meeting, Earl felt as if he was finally able to breathe. Alongside Cecil’s tight trousers and thin, formfitting shirt, there was something that brought him even closer. A sort of affection Earl wished he was used to seeing.

“My sweet Cecil,” Earl murmured into his lover’s hair before leaning in and kissing him deeply. He pulled Cecil close, possessively, reminding himself that the scouts couldn’t see him here and he could finally allowed to be weak. Although his mind threatened to drift back to his dorm and Nazr’s irritated glare, Cecil’s mouth brought him back to the filthy ally and the dusty ground under their feet.

Earl reached down and gently lifted the cigarette from Cecil’s hand. “You shouldn’t be smoking these. I don’t want anything to happen to that golden voice.”

“I don’t do it very often,” Cecil said, watching Earl lift the cigarette to his own lips and take a long drag on it before grinding it out against the wall and tossing it into the dumpster.

Earl sat down on the crate and Cecil straddled one of his legs, grinding his crotch against the scout’s thigh. Cecil placed a hand on his lover’s shoulder and gyrated his hips as Earl turned his head to kiss a dark mark onto Cecil’s wrist.

“So,” Cecil said lowly, opening his fly so his already tight trousers could ride low. “How’s life in the barracks?”

“Still get crap every day about my uniform. Al-Mujaheed’s getting under my skin.”

“What happened this time?”

“He found this in my desk.” Earl took the condom out of his pocket and flashed it at Cecil, whose eyes shone in excitement. “Said I already get away with too much because I’m Scoutmaster’s favorite,” Earl continued as Cecil kissed his neck.

“My brave Earl is risking suspension for me,” Cecil crooned, turning around to move his ass against Earl’s leg. His trousers slid down the curve of his back, revealing his slender hips. “How could I ever repay him?”

Earl gently ran his hand against the newly exposed skin. “I don’t want to talk about the scouts right now.” He helped the clothes slide down a little more. Cecil wasn’t wearing anything under his trousers. “I want this evening to belong just to us.”

Cecil sat on Earl’s lap, rubbing his backside against his lover’s arousal and moaning softly. Earl pulled him closer and kissed along his neck. The very slight shine of glitter coated Cecil’s tan and bare skin, gentle traces of it marking Earl as they humped and kissed in the alley. Earl slipped his hands under Cecil’s tight shirt. The feeling of warm skin under his fingers was comforting. It was something he tried to remember as he lay in his bunk and rubbed his erection against the sheets while Nazr slept.

As soon as Earl began to lose himself in the warmth and closeness of the other man, Cecil grabbed his wrist and guided it down the front of his trousers. Earl’s fingertips ran over the stiff shaft of the other man, his arousal already exposed to the dry hot air that caught in the alley behind Big Rico’s.

“You’re eager tonight,” Earl hummed into Cecil’s shoulder.

“Fuck me,” he groaned, guiding Earl’s calloused hand even farther. “I need this.”

“Radio stressing you out?”

“You have no idea,” he groaned as Earl slowly began to stroke him. “We all have our ways of dealing with Leonard and the internship. All the research and then going to the library to dig through the archives. This is the first evening in weeks where I haven’t been a nervous wreck.”

“Oh sweet Cecil,” Earl whispered, guiding Cecil to his feet just to bend him over the crate. “Let me take care of you.”

Cecil tugged down his trousers, groaning softly as he felt Earl brush up against his bare ass. The scout’s rough hands followed - groping, caressing, and prodding into him. Earl’s fingers wandered up along Cecil’s back before reaching to touch his cheek. Without needing to be told, Cecil turned his head and sucked Earl’s fingers into his mouth, his tongue rubbing against and between them as they became wet with spit.

As soon as Earl took his fingers from Cecil’s mouth, he slid them both into Cecil’s entrance. There was a loud thump as one of Cecil’s knees hit the crate, trying to get more purchase against Earl’s hand. Silently, Earl listened to the low and almost melodic gasps as his lover moaned and begged. He only stopped to put on the condom.

“Oh fuck, Earl,” Cecil growled, looking over his shoulder at the other man. “Just take me.”

“Hold on.”

Earl looked both ways down the alley, just making sure that they were really alone before he opened his trousers, moved aside his jockstrap, and rolled the condom onto his length. Without much warning, he pushed himself into Cecil’s hot and tight core. Cecil let out half a cry before he bit down on his own fist to silence himself.

Earl’s eyes dragged along his lover’s body, watching how he tensed and trembled under the thin, tight fabric of his shirt. He thrust slowly at first; just listening to the change in Cecil’s muffled grunts and cries. Cecil met each thrust and soon began to fuck himself on Earl’s prick, panting in frustrated desire for something rougher.

Taking the hint, Earl thrust harder and faster into Cecil. Has his hands pinned his lover down to the crate, Earl reminded himself that they were no longer in a solitary tent out in the scrublands and the sand wastes. They didn’t have the entire night to tease and explore each other – biting and licking along each other’s bodies and napping between long sessions. They couldn’t cry out to the gods or swear loudly at each other as they tried to make their sweaty fucking fall into the background hum of the desert city. Here, they had until someone from the restaurant came to take out the garbage or step out for a smoke break.

The crate lifted partly off the ground as Earl became rougher. Sweat began to leave marks against their clothes where warm skin clung to fabric. Earl’s calloused hand reached around and began to pump Cecil.

“Close,” Cecil panted, gripping the edge of the crate and pressing against the other man. “Oh merciful powers, am I close.”

Earl pumped him harder and felt a spasm of pleasure shoot through Cecil’s body. There was a muffled cry as Cecil came on Earl’s hand and against the side of the crate.

Buried up to the hilt in Cecil, Earl growled and thrust faster. His fingers left bruises as he pinned his lover down and drove into his spent body. It wasn’t much longer before he too begged and came hard into the condom.

“Fuck, Cece,” Earl groaned as he slowly kept thrusting. “Merciful powers, I needed that.”

There was the piercing scrape of metal against concrete as the back door to Big Rico’s opened and the bright lights of the kitchen flooded the dark alley. Earl looked up as a large figure appeared in the doorway.

“Hey! Fuck off!” the figure shouted. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

“We were just leaving,” Earl shouted back as he tossed the condom under the dumpster and tucked himself back in as Cecil pulled his trousers back up.

“So you’re the pricks who have been leaving condoms in my alley!”

“He said we’re leaving,” Cecil interjected.

“‘ _Your_ alley’?” Earl echoed, ignoring Cecil. “ _You’re_ Big Rico?”

“Yeah, I’m Big Rico,” the looming figure snapped back. “And if you fucks come back, I’ll make sure that even the Sheriff’s Secret Police never find your bodies.”

“You’re _Big Rico_ ,” Earl said again, his eyes narrowing. “You burned down the Sliceria.”

Cecil took Earl’s arm. “Let’s just go.”

“As I remember it,” Big Rico said, “there was no evidence.”

“The whole fucking town knows you did it,” Earl said, glaring up at the figure in the door. “That was a local landmark. Everyone’s parents proposed there. People died in that fire, you capitalist swine!”

Big Rico’s figure ducked out of sight for only a moment to return with the barrel of a shotgun silhouetted against the kitchen lights. He pointed it at the two young men, still leaning against the wooden crate. Earl’s eyes widened, the sound of the gun cocking enough to knock the breath out of him.

“Sir?” Cecil answered, stepping forward. “Perhaps we could work something out. Let me do something for you.”

Big Rico hesitated before he lowered the gun slightly.

“I work for NVCR,” Cecil continued. “I’ll give you some free ad-space if you just let us go and forget all this.”

“‘Work’ or ‘intern at’?”

“Both.”

The gun went back up. “What good’s your word? I heard about you NVCR interns. You barely ever last two weeks.”

“And the tablets at city hall say I’ll be here for a while. Believe them or what you’ve heard; either you’ll get the ads or you’ll never hear from me again.”

Big Rico looked between the two men before putting his gun aside. “How much free ad-space?”

“A week. You will hear your first ad on Thursday.”

“I want two months.”

“One month is as much as I can adjust the books.”

“One month is fine.” Big Rico picked up a garbage bag and threw it at Earl. Half-eaten and rotten food spilled out and onto the ground. “And if I catch you out here again, the hooded figures will come out to take care of you.”

The door slammed, the two young men left alone in the alley. Earl quietly held the garbage bag for a moment before walking to the dumpster and throwing it away.

“Earl?” Cecil stepped towards him and put a hand on the small of his back. “Early bird, what’s wrong?” There was no answer as he pulled aside Earl’s collar and kissed his neck. “Hmm?”

“I froze,” Earl said softly, not looking at Cecil.

“What?”

“When he pulled the gun on us, I froze.”

“That’s okay, I handled it.”

“No,” Earl snapped, turning to face the other man. His cheeks were clearly flushed even in the low light outside of Big Rico’s. “I. Froze. I didn’t step between you and the gun, I didn’t tell him to fuck off, I didn’t do anything to protect you.”

“Earl, look, I’m okay. We’re fine.”

“Why couldn’t I?”

“Earl!”

Earl turned away. Cecil’s hand was clutching his wrist and he was shaking. How long had he been shaking? Earl didn’t meet Cecil’s eyes as he was led to a dark corner, away from the light that threatened to pour out of the kitchen. In the shadows and next to broken beer bottles, they sat beside each other. The two men were in darkness for a long moment before Cecil took out and lit two cigarettes. Earl barely responded as one was slipped between his fingers, a cloud of smoke forming as Cecil sucked on the other.

“You still seem tense,” Cecil said.

“Yeah.” Earl put the cigarette in his mouth and sighed. “I just don’t know why I couldn’t do anything. I mean… I thought that I could break through… whatever that was. To save you. To keep him from hurting you.”

Cecil took Earl’s rough and scarred hand in his, gently bowing his head to kiss him. “You’re still my brave Earl.”

“Sweet Cecil,” Earl echoed, his eyes distant. “The punishment for a scout leader being romantically involved is reeducation and indefinite sentence to the abandoned mine shaft.”

“You’re still an Eagle Scout.”

“I know.”

Earl coughed softly as he took the cigarette out of his mouth and looked up to the void. As terrifying as he knew it should be, looking out into the endless nothing calmed him. They had gone from best friends to lovers and somehow all of this brought them to occasional frantic and dirty sex in public. It wasn’t what he wanted – it was so incredibly far away from what he wanted. He had often tried to retrace their footsteps and find where everything became less than what he knew Cecil deserved. Maybe it was the long night they spent naked and on fur out in the desert as they “researched” what life in 4000 BC Night Vale was like. There was that time Earl let Cecil slip a hand down the front of his pants as they broke away from a scout training session. Or perhaps it was something innocent, like the nervous quiver of his voice as he asked Cecil to the Sliceria for the first time. Of all things, Earl feared it was that. Perhaps they weren’t right for each other in the first place. He should have paid attention to the tablets at city hall – they had spelled it out so clearly: Cecil would be the Voice of Night Vale and Earl will become Scoutmaster.

They should have stopped before fate or destiny or arrogance or whatever you wanted to call it could tear them apart.

The cigarette was mostly ash by the time he was finally brought back down to the alleyway. Cecil had climbed onto his lap and nuzzled against his neck, gently kissing soft red hair.

“Brave Earl.”

“Sweet Cecil.”

Earl held his lover close, eyes closed tight as he tried to take in every gentle movement of muscle he could feel through thin fabric and tanned skin. They sat perfectly still, steadying their breaths and synchronizing their heartbeats as they held each other. It was something they were taught a long time ago when they were cub scouts. These were the first few steps towards soul-merging, a process that was always stopped quickly as one became aware of the other’s pain and rage. And here Earl began to feel a growing dread and faint memories of waking up in the library and walking past covered mirrors in a childhood home. A misplaced family. Masked fear. Earl tightened his grip, thinking that maybe, if he pulled Cecil close enough, the anxiety and loss would be crushed between them like pressed flowers.

“We can’t, Earl.”

“What?”Cecil pulled away from him and the feelings that were just a second ago so strong faded like a broken dream. “What can’t we do?”

“You know what I’m talking about.”

“Then say it.”

“We need to stop. You’re not sure if this can’t work or shouldn’t work and… we should just stop.”

“We don’t have to.”

“I need to,” Cecil said, still straddling Earl’s hips and with his arms around him. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“‘Hurt me’?”

“You’ll have to leave the scouts. I can’t do this to you, Earl. And… it’s selfish, but I don’t want you to resent me.”

“I could never resent you, Cece.” Earl gripped the other man’s arm, but could see that Cecil’s mind was already far away. “Cecil?”

“Friend?”

“Of course, friend.” Earl watched as Cecil got off his lap and stood, looking down at him for a moment before reaching down to help Earl to his feet. “I love you.”

“Friend,” Cecil repeated, turning to walk Earl out of the alley. “I love you too. That’s why this can’t work.”

“Bullshit.”

“Just forget this, Earl.” Cecil said as they stepped out to the street. “We can’t force it to work out. I’ll be here for you, just not with you. And, maybe when you’re scoutmaster and I’m the Voice of Night Vale, we could pick things up, but… I just don’t know. For right now, it would be best if we could just… forget. Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he lied. “That sounds about right.”

Earl watched as Cecil left to return to the interns’ dormitories. It was time for Earl to head back to his room and Nazr. He looked down at the fleur-de-lis patch on his jacket. He should transfer it back onto his uniform soon.

Smiling despite himself, Earl began his walk. Somehow, the tablets at city hall were right. And as much as he tried to pull away, he would always ultimately become exactly what the scouts wanted him to be.


End file.
